Waiting
by Simply Amaryllis
Summary: (Harry Potter/twilight AU) Draco's an aspiring actor and has moved to Hollywood to pursue that dream. He gets an audition, but how does he cope upon meeting the gorgeous producer, Emmett Cullen? Slash! Emmett Cullen/Draco Malfoy


Waiting can sometimes be boring – like when all you want is to order your coffee and go. Other times it is exciting, bouncing on the balls of your feet as you wait for the queue between you and your idol to shrink, so they can sign their latest book for you. Right now, waiting was painful.

Draco had been able to feel the fluttering of nervous butterflies in his stomach since he woke up – he checked his watch, which read 12 noon - 4 hours ago this morning. Now, as he stood as number 14 in line those butterflies morphed into wasps, stinging at his insides in terrified anticipation. Outwardly, he looked cool and collected, something he did not share with number 13. Inhaling deeply, before letting it out in a quite sigh, the blonde-haired man ran over the words he had committed to memory one more time.

He had made the decision to move to the states (more specifically, Hollywood) to pursue his aspiration of becoming an actor. Yes it was stereotypical, and he knew that just because he as in the right place didn't mean he would magically become the next A-list celebrity. He just knew that, when he compared his previous home of Wiltshire in England to Hollywood, the likelihood of him finding work was increased here.

So here he was, in a rather dull looking building, waiting in line for his first audition. When Pansy, his loudmouth agent, had called him about the job Draco had been unsure. He felt it was understandable – no-one has heard of him and he has no valuable previous acting experience behind him (as mentioned, Wiltshire isn't known for its film or TV production). But the woman had told him that she had secured an audition for a new television drama called _Knowledge_.

By this point, he was still dubious, but at least Draco knew it wasn't some low-budget film that haunts you for the entirety of your following career. No, he had actually heard about this one on a couple of radio shows he followed. The word was, this show could shape up to be rather good.

This optimism he felt towards the show grew upon receiving a copy of the script. The 23-year-old found himself liking the pace of the show – about a woman who is assigned to investigate the cause of bankruptcy in a software company, and finds more than she is meant to. The role he was planning to audition for was that of her boyfriend. If he got the role, it would be a huge boost that would hopefully help him start a long career.

He was brought abruptly out of his thoughts, when number 10 was called. Not long now. He just bounced his leg, no doubt annoying the men either side of him. About 45 minutes later, he was called and he entered the small audition room. A small brunette with brown eyes and generally pleasant features stood and gave a small smile. As she introduced her team, she gestured to each one.

"Hi, my name's Bella Cullen, and I'm the head of the casting team. As well as me, there's Mike, Angela, and Jessica."

"Hello. I'm Draco Malfoy, and I'm here to audition for the role of 'Ben'."

"Welcome and good luck! As you know, you'll be going over page 5, where you talk with your girlfriend, Madison. For now, we would like you to play opposite Jessica, so whenever you're ready?"

Draco nodded and waited for Jessica to stand and start the extract: "Ben, please believe me! I'm telling the damn truth – why would I lie? That company wasn't just losing clients for no reason. Something was purposefully done to sabotage them!"

He took a deep breath, before speaking the lines ingrained into his memory. "How can you say that without evidence though? I'm not saying I don't believe you Maddie. I really want to. But when you work in the field I do, you see a lot of firms go bust in exactly the same circumstances as SanCo did. Things just go downhill."

Jessica looked down at the floor, before looking up at Draco, and nodded. "I'll get some proof then! I _know_ something happened to ruin that company. You should have heard Mr Abrone, B. He was so lost! He said one day the finances were fine, and a month later they weren't. But none of his finance department noticed. How the Hell do accountants not notice a change like that?"

Draco sighed, "Look, Maddie, if you're going to do this, just be careful. You don't want to dig yourself into a hole and find nothing. And if there _is_ something behind this, you don't want to be noticed. If they went to all this trouble to destroy SanCo, they won't like you looking. They're probably nervous about the investigation anyway. I love you, Maddie, and I don't want to even think about you getting hurt."

As Draco said this, he moved forwards and pulled Jessica into an intimate hug, and closed his eyes as if cherishing the moment.

"I promise I'll be careful B."

"Good. Now go and get changed, we're going out for dinner with my sister and her new fling." Draco rolled his eyes.

"You have to cut her some slack Ben! Hannah's only 21! She doesn't need to be in a committed relationship yet."

"…We were by that point." Draco grumbled, presenting Ben's stubborn-older-brother attitude.

"Yes, but Hannah is not the same as you, thank god!" Jessica recited playfully, "Imagine if there were two grumpy Swiftons in this city! It's a nightmarish thought!"

"You're forgetting my Father, Maddie." Draco raised his eyebrow, causing Jessica to let out a loud chuckle, before replying.

"Come on, we're going to be late otherwise!" Jessica grabbed his hand and pulled him off to the side of the room. Once there, the two waited a moment, before Draco let his shoulder's sag in relief as the audition ended on a high. Jessica congratulated him on his attempt and returned to her seat on the other side of the table with her colleagues.

Bella, Mike and Angela were all smiling, and Mike spoke up, "Thanks for coming Mr Malfoy. That was very well done. We will be contacting all of the candidate's agent's by the end of next week about the part, so expect some form of news by then. Have a good day!"

Draco nodded and smiled at the panel, leaving the room feeling rather jolly, not that he let it show on his face. That went well, he thought.

It was a week later, when he was sat having a coffee with his Roommate Blaise Zabini, that Pansy called him with news. He had just been talking about Blaise's progress with his masters dissertation when his phone came to life with an awful song that Pansy always managed to set as her ring tone – He always changed it, only for it to be changed back a week later. He had no clue how she did it.

He accepted the call, putting the phone to his ear, before sharply pulling it away again with a glare as Pansy shrieked down the phone.

"Pansy, darling, maybe lower your pitch a bit. And whilst you're at it, maybe go down a decibel or two. The dogs in the next city over aren't interesting in this news. I however, am." Draco ignored Blaise's chuckling as the man stood to get more drinks.

"Very funny Dray. I will have you know I was excited because someone, not going to say who, got their first Hollywood call-back!" The bubbly woman on the other end of the phone exclaimed.

"I got a call back? For _Knowledge_?"

"Yes, sweetie." Pansy sighed impatiently. "They want you to come in on the 5th, at 1pm."

Draco fished his planner out of his bag – yes a planner. He always liked to use them instead of his phone. Whenever he put an appointment in on his phone he forgot. It was damn annoying. So he stuck to the good old fashioned method instead. Flipping to the 5th, he saw it was a Tuesday, just over a week's time considering it was a Monday now.

"You can let them know that I'm free then and that I will be there! I can't believe they liked me enough to see me again!"

By this time, Blaise was back with two fresh coffees. He sat down and gave Draco a quizzical look, which the blonde responded to by gesturing at his planner. In it, he had written '1:00, CALL-BACK!' with the address of the studio that had been given to him by Pansy. Blaise smiled upon reading it, before slapping his back, causing Draco to inhale a mouthful of coffee and choke. At least the Italian-American looked sheepish about it.

Pansy however, misinterpreted the choking as excitement however, "Calm down Dray! Of course they liked you. Just a warning though, it won't be the casting team this time. It'll be the head of department, the director and the producer."

Draco nodded distractedly, before remembering that Pansy couldn't _hear_ a nod. "Yeah, okay. Talk to you later Pansy. Bye!"

Pansy said her own goodbyes before hanging up. The 23-year-old barely noticed though. The heads of departments were going to be there. That thought terrified him. Cullen Productions were known for being very close knit, and if one of them didn't feel the actor was right, that actor was not hired. They were often referred to as a family, despite there being no blood relations between those on the team. Some of the team members were romantically involved with each other though.

Draco just hoped that the rest of the Cullen Productions management team like him as much as the initial panel did.

Walking into the waiting room, he noticed there were several people there, but only two others had badges on that showed they were fellow candidates. Obviously they'd brought moral support. The thought hadn't even occurred to Draco. They both were before him, so he waited for about an hour before it was his turn. He had no clue what to expect – they hadn't given him any part of the script to learn.

Upon entering the large conference style room, he saw it was full of people – some he recognised, and others he didn't. He was asked to introduce himself before sitting down in the chair in the middle of the room. After that, everyone else introduced themselves.

First, a tall blond man stood. He was sat centrally, and Draco recognised him immediately. "Hello, Draco. My name's Carlisle Cullen. I'm to be the director of this series if it goes well, and am a co-founder of Cullen Productions. Today is going to be a bit different than you expected – We do call backs to get to know you as an actor. We want to know how you get on with the team, what abilities you have, and things like that."

Draco nodded in acknowledgement of this, causing Carlisle to continue. "I and the Producer of the show, Emmett McCarty" He gestured to the man to his left, "will be talking to you first."

Again Draco nodded, letting his eyes stray to look at Emmett McCarty. When he found blue eyes staring back at him, he flushed. The only way to describe the producer was gorgeous. He was built up, his muscles looking amazing in his work shirt, and had a defined jaw, dark brown hair neatly styled, and a feeling of authority about him that made Draco swoon.

Mentally berating himself over his ridiculous thoughts, he went to answer Carlisle's questions: Firstly about his education, then experience, followed by whether he can change his accent if they needed him to. After that came questions about working hours and the necessary commitments he would have to make. Then Emmett spoke up, discussing payment requirements and contracts.

"As mentioned before, I'm Emmett. It's great to meet you. I'd just like to discuss your terms for payment and your contract. If we do decide to hire you, it allows us to have the contract ready for appraisal as early as possible." The dark haired man explained.

Draco took a moment for his response. He tried his best, he really did. But Emmett's voice was like warm honey. His answers suddenly lost their confidence as he stuttered his way through the conditions he and Pansy had planned out. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw other members of the panel smirking slightly at his reaction to their co-worker. He felt a scowl wanting to form on his face. What made it worse was when Draco re-focused his attention back on the man, and found that he too was smirking with an added glint in his eye as they ran up and down Draco's body. Of course, the blond's response to this was to flush a faint pink, and that damned smirk just grew wider.

Carlisle interrupted the exchange between the two by thanking Draco and smiling welcomingly, gesturing to the woman to his right to follow.

"Hey, it's nice to meet you! I'm the other co-founder of Productions, Esme Cullen. I'm also the head of the hair and makeup department for the company! I hope today goes well for you!" Draco smiled at her as she sat down. Esme was incredibly famous in the business for her kindness and hospitality, a trait she shared with her husband of 5 years, Carlisle.

"Thank you, Esme, it's lovely to meet you too!"

Her smile in response practically lit the room up. "Firstly, can I ask you about your hair – are you alright with us dying or cutting it?"

"I'm fine with dye, and whilst I would prefer semi-permanent, permanent dye would also be fine. Also, cutting is okay. However, whilst if you needed to I would, I'm not a big fan of the idea of shaving it off."

Esme nodded, making notes as he spoke. Similarly, Pansy, who had slipped in during Draco's introduction, was recording the meeting and scribbling away in one of her sparkly notebooks.

"I only have one other question right now – are you allergic to any skin products? We wouldn't want to be taking you to hospital mid-shoot because of a bad reaction to something!"

Draco shook his head in reply. "No."

With that, Esme turned to a short woman with crazy brunette hair in a pixy cut and mating brown eyes. "Hi! My name's Alice Brandon, and I'm head of the costume department, meaning I will get to dress you up!" She clapped excitedly.

He grinned back at her, finding her excitement infectious.

"I only have one question for you right now, Draco – Are you okay with the concept of doing shirtless scenes?"

"Yeah, I'm fine for scenes like that if they're part of it." Draco isn't exactly a body conscious individual. As long as his reproductive parts aren't on show, he's absolutely fine with it! He didn't spend Saturday mornings in the gym for nothing, after all!

Next up was a blonde guy who introduced himself as Jasper Whitlock, and he was in charge of stunts.

"So, Draco, the first big question is do you do your own stunts or do you prefer a double to do them?"

"I got basic training in fighting stunts, so I like to do those. However bigger ones, if they're included, are a bit advanced for me." He admitted with a slightly bashful smile. Jasper just nodded with a serious look on his face, asked a couple more questions and then reclined in his seat as the next panel member introduced themselves.

"I'm Rosalie Hale, and I am head of the props department. Seeing as you just said that you'd do your own stunts, if we go with you, I will need a list of equipment that you have been trained to use."

Draco saw pansy make a note of this as the stern blonde finished talking and allowed the final member of the Cullen Productions management staff introduce themselves. "Hello, I'm Edward Masen Jr. I'm the one who will be getting the cast places on talk shows and in newspapers. I just need to know if you'd be happy to do photoshoots and interviews." When he received an affirmative reply from Draco, Edward turned to Pansy at the back of the room.

"I will also need to discuss with you what your client is and isn't ok with sharing, and response measures for if something unwanted gets publicised." With that, he finished and the team all came over to shake Draco's hand and say goodbye.

One by one they all took their turn until Draco found himself facing Emmett, his hand grasped by the other mans'. He had huge hands, and a matching height of 6'5" that dwarfed Draco's 5'10". Yet again, he felt a flush form as the dark-haired man spoke to him.

"Let me walk you out, Draco." Then Emmett dropped his hand and walked out of the conference room. Looking round, Draco saw Pansy talking to Edward, and so with a parting wave, followed the producer.

As they walked to the elevator, and whilst they were travelling down from the 6th floor to the ground floor, they chatted casually. "So, you're English? What made you move here?"

Draco rolled his eyes at Emmett's rather obvious starting line, but answered good-naturedly. "I wanted to have a career, and my home county is not the best location. I suppose I could have moved somewhere else in England, but I thought if I'm going to move…"

Emmett nodded, "Well I'm glad you did – it means I was able to meet you."

And for the third time today (apparently he was becoming a teenager again…) he flushed in response to the other man.

"Do you enjoy making me blush, Mr McCarty?" Ha, take that. Now it's his turn to be embarrassed! He ignored that part of his brain telling him that wasn't a jab at Emmett, but flirting.

"Yes, it suits you. And it's nice to know I can do that to you." Emmett smirked. Damnit. He's good. Draco glared at the man, his cheeks still pink. He refused to listen to the little part of his mind that was still whispering at him, this time to stop being childish. Emmett just chuckled and stepped out of the elevator doors into the lobby of the building.

Draco checked his watch, seeing that it was 2:34pm. "Thanks for walking me down here, hopefully I will see you soon, to start filming?"

Emmett nodded with a grin, "I was hoping to see you sooner than that, honestly. How's dinner on Friday night sound to you?"

It was frustration that Draco felt as yet another blush appeared, just as the last one was disappearing too! Then he properly took in the older man's words.

"I appreciate the offer, but no thank you." At his response, Emmett looked disappointed for less than a moment, before he formed a pleasant, diplomatic look on his face. That alone, made Draco want to explain.

"Emmett, I don't want to be the guy who got the job because he's seeing the producer! Even if it's not true, that's how the media will take it. It's just not a smart idea for my career. And my career is more important to me right now – I just barely met you. I'm sorry, I just don't want to jeopardise myself."

"That's completely understandable, Draco. I'm sorry for asking. It was out of line." The blond sighed.

"It was not 'out of line' Emmett!" He lowered his voice to a whisper, "Dinner on Friday would be sounding good, if it weren't for the job. Maybe if I don't get the part, you could call me?" He passed over his number. "And if I do get the part, then we'll see each other all the time, and so you'll probably lose interest after a while."

Emmett scoffed at that, "Bye, Draco."

The 23-year-old actor wasn't sure if the fondness he heard in Emmett's voice was real or a figment of his imagination.

It was three days later. Friday. He could have been on a dinner date with that deliciously sculpted producer, Emmett. Instead he was sat with Pansy, her boyfriend Tim, Blaise, and a few of the latter's college friends. They were in the middle of watching the third Lord of the Rings film, The Return of the King. It was Draco's favourite of the three, but as long as Aragorn was there, being all good looking and awesome, he was fine.

But just as Gandalf turned up to assist the battle, he got a nudge in the gut. "I can't believe you turned down a date! You've been here six months and not dated anyone, and then a hot, and interested, guy turns up and you said no!" Blaise had been bugging him about it since he'd heard. Apparently he was highly invested in Draco's love-life.

Draco scowled, eyes still glued to the screen, "Blaise, I already told you – if they cast me, I don't want it to look like he hired me for that, and not my talent. I've seen what happens to actors who start off like that – the media are so harsh on them!"

Despite his friend not being able to see it, Blaise rolled his eyes, "Fine, if you insist. But if he asks you after filming or whatever, indulge yourself – what's the harm in dating someone you like?"

"He's not going to be interested by then – he'll probably get fed up of me and decide not to bot-" Draco got cut off by a cushion to the face. He looked up, and glared at Pansy, who was gesturing at him from where she sat on the loveseat with Tim.

"What?" He said a little too loudly causing the others to 'shhhhh' him. Pansy opened her mouth to answer, before rethinking and playing her phone, which was in her hand already. Draco took his phone out, understanding his her intentions, and waited for the message to come through.

Pansy: I just got an email from Cullen Production

Draco sucked a lungful of air in – the moment of truth. Will he have a chance at a career, or will he have to look for something new. He pushed down the small part of him that hoped he didn't get the part, so that Emmett could ask him out again.

Draco: So? What did they say?

Pansy: That they really like 'your enthusiasm for the character' and that 'you are open to carrying out stunts'. They want you to know if you're available in 2 months (14th July onwards specifically) to start filming the pilot of Knowledge?

Draco sat there a moment, shocked, before throwing himself at Pansy for a hug. She obviously indulged him until he calmed down and collected himself, sitting back in his seat with poise as if he hadn't just gained a part that would, fingers crossed, be a promising start to an awesome career.

The 14th July came up rather more quickly than Draco was expecting. It felt like no time at all that he was standing on a set made up to look like a house (Ben and Maddie's house, to be more specific) acting opposite _the_ Ginny Weasley.

When he had found out that Ginny was playing Madison, he had almost fainted. She had starred in one of his favourite shows, _Deepest Secrets_. She had joined at 13, when Draco himself was 14, and the show had lasted for 4 more seasons. Following this, Ginny went on to star in a couple of high achieving films, and now this.

It took a while for them to click – his personality (cold and somewhat snobbish) doesn't always appeal to people. But once they got talking, Draco learnt to calm himself down and with that the unpleasantness decreased also. By the time they finished filming the pilot episode, the two were getting on like a house on fire.

Draco found himself getting on well with the rest of the cast too, but spent most of his time with Cedric Diggory (who was cast as Thomas Abrone, the SanCo CEO) and Luna Lovegood, who played his sister on the show.

The pilot was aired a few months later in September, and was well received by their audience, resulting in the show being renewed for a full season. They got filming that same week.

Draco sighed as he flopped down on his bed. Today had been… interesting. The episode they had wrapped up the day before was the first to have a large fight scene involving Maddie and Ben against a 'masked attacker'. In the fight, Maddie had gotten injured badly, and had to be taken to hospital.

The writers had planned that in the next episode, she would wake up and Maddie and Ben would kiss – a proper kiss filled with passion and love and relief, not just a peck. They had been filming that exact scene that afternoon.

Draco had had no problem with doing that – it was all part of acting. Romances need to be believable, and it's not like he was going to get carried away with it – he's not exactly into boobs. Ginny was not bothered about it either. She had done on screen kisses before, and wasn't shy.

What was the issue was Ginny's agent, who doubled up as her boyfriend. According to Ginny, they had started dating two years ago, when she turned 20, and Harry 21.

"Basically, since we've started dating, I've not been asked to do a big passionate kiss with anyone. And now, he's all jealous because you're good looking and 'obviously going to try and get away with something'" She rolled her brown eyes. "I've warned him that he's going to have to get over it, and that you'd never try something anyway, but I thought I would warn you. He's a bit of a hot head."

Draco had nodded and walked towards the hospital set with the red-head. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

They got into position, him feigning sleep in the chair next to the bed and Ginny lying in the bed. Upon hearing her cue, Ginny acts as if just waking, calling for Ben to wake up. Draco responded to his co-star, standing from the chair stiffly and calling for a doctor. Once the extra leaves, he leans over the bed, looking tenderly at Ginny.

"I'm so glad you're safe, Mads. I was terrified."

"Well, I'm fine now, B. I just need to rest up, you heard the doctor. C'mon, help me get changed and let's head home."

The crew had then stop filming, and started setting up for the next scene. Draco and Ginny headed towards costume and makeup for touch ups, and so Ginny could get into her next outfit. Afterwards, they had moved over to the street-house set, chatting as they walked.

The two had positioned themselves again, and upon direction from Carlisle, started acting out the scene. Draco helped Ginny, whose characters' leg had been broken among other things, to climb the steps to their house. Once the two were in the house, Draco dropped the bag – made to look full of Maddie's belongings – and reached for his partner. He pulled her into a hug, before leaning back and saying, "Never do that again."

She just laughed tiredly, "I didn't ask for it, B."

"I don't care – just don't do it."

Ginny rolled her eyes, giving an impression of resignation and amusement, "I love you, Ben."

And Draco leant forward, and kissed her. They both put effort into making it convincing, and not look over-done or cheesy. They then pulled away, looked at each other, before Draco helped Ginny get to the sofa in the living room. He walked into the kitchen of Ben and Maddie's house, and heard "Cut!"

He had walked out again, and seen Ginny head off to the side to talk with a black-haired, bespectacled man. She smiled at him, but her expression was replaced with a disgruntled look when he started talking. Then the man had looked up to see Draco. Draco remembered him storming towards him, looking angry.

"Hello, can I help you?"

"Yes you can help me! I know you want to steal my girlfriend, so back off! She's not interested in you!" Ah, this must by Harry Potter. Draco had taken the opportunity to observe him better. The other man was very handsome, but had clear possessiveness issues.

"I'm so sorry Draco!" Ginny had followed her partner over, and was clearly feeling humiliated by his behaviour, which was made clear through her body language, "Harry, come on. He's not done anything wrong, and I've already told you – he's not interested! Right, Draco?"

"Ginny's right. For one, I don't go after people if I know they have a partner. Two, she is definitely _not_ my type." He had tried to over-act his 'gayness' – it was the only way a man who clearly has little intelligence, when it comes to social interactions at the least, would be able to realise why Ginny was not his type. To Ginny though, his message had been loud and clear, and she'd had to muffle her giggles to not anger her boyfriend further.

Potter (he didn't have Draco's respect, so he wasn't going to treat him as if he did) didn't seem to catch the blatant hint though, and instead got offended. "Are you saying she's not pretty enough for you then? Or are you too 'well-educated'"- this was said in a mock snooty tone-"for her?"

"Potter, stop trying to suggest that I mean offense at you or Ginny in some way. I. Am. Gay. I like males. The only way I would be interested in Ginny, would be if she's hiding some male parts up that skirt of hers. Understand?"

Said woman had snorted in laughter at that, not even bothering to hide her amusement at the thought. Potter, however, didn't find it so funny. He had launched himself at Draco, arm raised and hand curled in a fist. Draco was just relieved that the on-duty security guards had been watching them since they'd first heard raised voices. They sprinted over, and one of them – He later introduced himself as Vince Crabbe - grabbed Potter, whilst the other – Greg Goyle – checked if he and Ginny were alright.

Amid the resulting chaos, Draco had suddenly found himself being turned around gently by hands on his shoulders. It turned out those hands belonged to Emmett, who had been on set today, and therefore witness to two security guards hauling away a third man. Upon asking about it, he was informed that Harry Potter had attempted to hurt the show's male lead, Draco. Emmett was quick to tell Draco that he'd approached to check if he was alright.

Draco had responded, "I'm fine thank you, he was just looking for a fight, and I provided an opportunity." Emmett just pulled Draco into a hug.

"I'm glad he didn't hurt you."

Draco shook himself out of thought, and stood from his bed to make some food. He was starving. When he thought of the words Emmett had muttered in his ear quietly, just before he let go and walked off towards Carlisle and Edward with a friendly wave, he couldn't help but think of the scene he had filmed that afternoon. In this version of it though, he was in Maddie's position, and Emmett played Ben.

He was smitten with the producer of his show. He didn't even know if Emmett was still into him. To Draco, he only ever gave a friendly impression. Damnit.

Smoothing his suit, Draco admired his appearance in the mirror. He had to admit, Alice had amazing taste. Tonight was an awards ceremony, and _Knowledge_ had been nominated for several – Best Female Lead, Best Show and Best Fight Scenes. As one of the leading cast members, he was invited, and he was aware that it was great for networking. Therefore, Alice had dragged him shopping, to find a tux.

Once he was happy with his appearance, he headed out to the car, where Ginny and Potter were waiting. Draco was still not overly impressed with the man, but they were civil for Ginny's sake. Also in the car was Pansy, who was in a beautiful blue floor-length dress. She had pretty much forced him to ask her to go – even going as far to threaten him. Luckily he was planning to ask her anyway.

They arrived at the ceremony, climbing out of the car onto the red carpeted entrance. Ginny and Harry went first, and were met with screams from fans and press alike. Draco took a deep breath, and turned to his agent.

"You ready?"

"Of course I am, sweetie. Look at me – I'm gorgeous. Are you ready?"

Another deep breath, "As I ever will be, I suppose." With that, they stepped out of the car.

"Draco! Draco! Over here!"

"What was it-"

"How do you fee-"

"WE LOVE YOU BEN!"

The lights and the shouts were loud, but he surprised himself by not feeling overwhelmed. It felt exhilarating, actually. He walked from reporter to reporter, as he was expected to do and answered a couple of questions before heading in to find their seats.

The show had a large circular table reserved for them. There were eleven seats surrounding it, allowing for all those nominated to be present. Out of the cast and crew, Carlisle was present with Esme as his plus 1, Alice sitting next to her, along Jasper. Rosalie, who had come as Emmett's plus one – she had been dying to show off her new dress, and so asked if she could go with Emmett, who was like a brother to her - was sat next to him, Emmett on Rosalie's right. Draco was placed next Emmett, which was no doubt due to one of the party changing the seating plan round. He was banking on Alice. Next to Draco was Pansy, and then it was Severus Snape, actor of the villain of their show (The only member of the group who had decided not to bring a plus one). Finally, next to Severus was Ginny. Harry Sat between Ginny and Carlisle to complete the circle.

The awards ceremony went smoothly. The first award announced for which they were nominated for was Best Female Lead. They all held their breath as the nominees were listed. In the end, it went to a period drama actor. A few award later, it was the Best Fight Scenes award. Once again, they held their breaths as the nominees were read aloud.

Draco could feel his breath rush out as the presenter read, " _Knowledge!"_

Jasper and Emmett, as the producer and stunt choreographer, both stood and collected the award, and Jasper was asked to give a quick speech. They then sat down and the next award was announced. The time passed quickly, and they were soon waiting for the last award: Best Show.

When, yet again, the presenter read " _Knowledge_ " aloud, it didn't register in Draco's mind. Not until Emmett jumped up in excitement to collect the award and accidentally jostled Draco. He felt the other man's hand rest on his shoulder momentarily in apology, before he walked towards the stage and up the steps.

"I want to thank the whole Cullen Productions Family – And that includes all you actor folks! It was awesome working with you all, and clearly that came across in our work, what with this thing here" He lifted the award and waved it about, "being ours' now! Thank you and well done!"

The whole time he had been speaking, his gaze was firmly locked on Draco's.

He then stepped away from the microphone, and walked back to the table. Soon after, the guests were all moved to a second room, where they all chatted, partied and drank. The fact that Draco danced with Emmett for longer, and closer, than a friend would, was ignored by most.

It was a week after the awards ceremony, and they had just found out that _Knowledge_ had been renewed for a second series. On top of that, Pansy had been contacted about the possibility of Draco auditioning for small rolls in a number of films, when he wasn't busy with the show.

Draco had just got off the phone with an excited Pansy, who was talking his ear off about a Rom-Com he had been asked to audition for. The roll was that of the Bride's brother, and was only in about a third of the scenes for a short amount of time, but it was a good starting part. The blond was heading to the kitchen for a drink when the buzzer of his apartment went off.

He picked the phone up, "Hello?"

"Hey, Draco, it's me, Emmett. Can I come up?"

"Sure" Draco pressed the button to unlock the door, and waited until there was a knock on the entrance to his flat. The 23-year old opened the door and moved aside, allowing the much larger 30-year-old man to enter. "How are you, Em?"

"I'm good thank you – still riding on a high from the awards really." He was like an excited puppy as he grinned at the smaller blond, "You?"

"I'm awesome, thank you." Draco grinned.

"Good, good. Glad to hear it. Yeah." His mood completely flipped as he said this – the excitement turning to nervousness.

"Are you sure everything's alright Emmett? If you need anything, you know you can just ask, right?"

"Yeah, it's great. Honestly. I just came to say 'hi' really. So hi!" He chuckled, still nervous, but trying to hide it now. "Well, then. I should probably go…" He glanced at the door.

"Oh. Okay. Well it was nice seeing you I suppose." Draco mentally kicked himself – he was an actor – he should be able to hide the disappointment better than that! He walked towards the door, Emmett following, and opened it. "I'll see you next week for that barbeque Bella and Edward are having, right?"

Emmett grinned, almost back to normal, "Yeah, defin- Oh what the Hell!"

Draco looked up from his shoes in alarm at the sudden change, "Wha-?"

Before he finished speaking, Emmett was in his personal space, and his lips were pressed against Draco's. Unlike the last kiss he'd had (with Ginny during the season finale), this one caused heat to fill him. It was a weird mix between warmth similar to when you're sat by a fire, and shooting beams of it, flashing through him.

By the time Emmett pulled away, the younger had his arms wrapped around broad shoulders, and Emmett's were circled around Draco's waist, pulling them against each other. Both were out of breath, and so a moment of silence passed between them as they fought to regain themselves. Then Emmett spoke up.

"You know I asked you to dinner?" Draco nodded, and he continued, "Do you want to, you know, have dinner?"

"Are you asking me out again?" Draco voiced his confusion – until that kiss, he'd been sure Emmett wasn't interested in him!

"Yes, you idiot. I don't kiss people randomly. I kiss people when I really like them, more than as a friend. And I've been waiting to kiss you since I first asked you out."

"In that case, dinner sounds lovely, where were you thinking?"


End file.
